One day later, in the same wilderness outside Guangtian City, under the same deep night sky, two people asked the same question. It was clear that their fates were deeply intertwined.
Shangguan Haonan and You Guanyue laughed heartily as they leaped forward, killing several riders in an instant, splattering blood across the wilderness.
The leading knight of the Siqi Gate reined in his horse and shouted, “Who are you? State your names!”
You Guanyue replied with a grin, “I am Zhang Xiaoyao, the illustrious Zhang Sanye, known for my keen eyes and love for cooking cranes! And he,” pointing at Shangguan Haonan, “is Wang Xiaoer.”
Shangguan Haonan shot him a glare but continued attacking the pursuers from Siqi Gate. Wielding a pair of pitch-black iron tiger claws, he moved swiftly, killing another three or four men in moments.
Seeing the dire situation, the leading knight hastily reorganized his remaining twenty men into a defensive formation, facing off against Shangguan Haonan and You Guanyue. He shouted, “Today’s matter is internal to the Six Northern Factions; it does not concern outsiders!”
Pointing at Cai Zhao and her companions, he added, “These three have committed countless crimes within Guangtian Gate. We, Siqi Gate, are here to apprehend them. Please do not interfere.”
You Guanyue scoffed, “Do you take me for a fool? That unconscious young man is clearly Song Yuzhi, the third son of Guangtian Gate. ‘Apprehend together’? What a joke!”
The leading knight gritted his teeth. “You demonic cultists, so shameless. Fine, let’s see how you handle this…” Before he finished, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from behind, indicating more pursuers were coming.
A smile spread across the knight’s face. “We are just the first wave. There are two or three more waves behind us. Let’s see how you survive!”
Shangguan Haonan, irritated, retorted, “If you want to fight, then fight! Why so much nonsense? Do you think I’ll believe your words about reinforcements?”
In truth, even if three more waves of pursuers came, You Guanyue wouldn’t be afraid. With Mu Qingyan and Shangguan Haonan’s skills, they could always retreat safely. However, their goal was to enter the Blood Marsh, a perilous place. It was best not to waste energy beforehand.
You Guanyue glanced back at Mu Qingyan, asking, “Young Master, what do you think…?”
To his surprise, Mu Qingyan wasn’t paying attention. Instead, he walked step by step to Cai Zhao. “You didn’t come with Song Yuzhi to mediate disputes. You came for the Blood Marsh.”
Cai Zhao, clutching her wounded shoulder, replied, “And you didn’t come to watch the Northern factions’ infighting. You’re here for the Blood Marsh too!”
Mu Qingyan frowned slightly. “How do you know about the Blood Marsh?”
Cai Zhao bit her lip. “I saw it on a map.”
Mu Qingyan knew she understood what he was really asking. He swiftly reached out to the panting Fan Xingjia lying on the ground. Before Cai Zhao could react, he had already seized Fan Xingjia by his pressure points, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.
“Haonan, catch.” Mu Qingyan said calmly as he tossed Fan Xingjia into the air. Then, he turned to Cai Zhao. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll throw him to Siqi Gate.”
“Got it!” Shangguan Haonan extended his long arm, catching Fan Xingjia and tucking him under his arm.
Fan Xingjia, terrified, pleaded, “No, no, please spare me! Help me, Junior Sister!”
Cai Zhao, desperate, tried to rush forward, but Mu Qingyan intercepted her with an outstretched arm. In her panic, she drew her Yan Yang blade, but before she could wield it, Mu Qingyan flicked a small stone, striking her wrist and causing it to go numb.
Though her wrist was paralyzed, Cai Zhao reacted quickly, throwing a silver chain with her left hand. Mu Qingyan didn’t resist. Instead, he caught the chain and, using a maneuver called ‘Inverted Hanging Cloud’ from Qingyun techniques, flipped in mid-air. Before his feet touched the ground, he had already grabbed Cai Zhao’s wounded shoulder, disarming her.
“Guanyue, secure the blade,” Mu Qingyan instructed.
You Guanyue eagerly picked up the Yan Yang blade and wrapped it in soft silk, carefully placing it in his backpack.
Cai Zhao, in pain, fell to one knee. Mu Qingyan’s palm, brimming with immense internal energy, hovered over her, the power fluctuating yet contained, demonstrating the pinnacle of inner martial arts.
Cai Zhao had known her skills might be slightly inferior to Mu Qingyan’s, but she hadn’t anticipated that his internal energy had grown so much in a year. Realizing the depth of his improvement, she thought back to what her father had once said: absorbing another’s internal energy requires having nearly equal strength oneself.
Mu Zhengming hadn’t died of old age or injuries but from poisoning, transferring his life’s internal energy to his son, Mu Qingyan, before passing. Mu Qingyan, though young, had inherited this vast power, integrating it seamlessly.
While You Guanyue admired the Yan Yang blade, Cai Zhao’s eyes filled with anger and frustration. She felt humiliated by her inability to protect her aunt’s weapon and by Mu Qingyan’s deliberate actions to embarrass her.
Mu Qingyan remarked, “Your aunt left too early, and your parents gave you the Yan Yang blade too soon, fostering your reliance on it. Remember, weapons are merely aids. Now, answer me, how did you know about the Blood Marsh?”
Cai Zhao hesitated. Mu Qingyan called out, “Haonan, throw him.”
“No, no, don’t throw me! I’ll talk!” Fan Xingjia screamed, clutching Mu Qingyan’s arm. “I’ll tell you—I found it in Yin Dai’s secret notes. About three or four months before Nie Hengcheng’s power surged, Chen Shu led a large group here…”
“At that time, Chen Shu had already been disabled by my aunt using the Five Poison Palm, and he hadn’t left the Youming Bamboo Path for a long time. However, he traveled thousands of miles to the vicinity of Guangtian Gate on that occasion. If it weren’t for a task that only he could handle, why would Nie Hengcheng let him take such a risk?”
Mu Qingyan nodded, “Indeed, among Nie Hengcheng’s four disciples, only Chen Shu knew the secret of the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra.’ If it involved that matter, it had to be Chen Shu who dealt with it.”
At this moment, the sound of pursuing hooves grew louder, indicating that the enemies were only two or three miles away. Cai Zhao couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Mu Qingyan glanced at the girl and instructed, “Haonan, Guanyue, take care of them quickly.” With that, he walked alone into the dense forest.
Shangguan Haonan threw aside Fan Xingjia, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
Even You Guanyue, who usually maintained a refined demeanor, couldn’t hide his satisfaction. He shook his sleeves, revealing a pair of gleaming ghost-head curved hooks, and charged into the riders of the Siqi Gate with a loud laugh.
Fan Xingjia crawled to Cai Zhao’s side, panicked, “Didn’t you say you parted amicably, without any resentment?”
“I thought it was amicable…” Cai Zhao replied, confused.
Fan Xingjia, exasperated, said, “He looks like he wants to eat you alive! Is that what you call amicable?”
Cai Zhao sighed deeply, unable to respond.
In front of them, the screams of the Siqi Gate disciples filled the air. Under the assault of Shangguan Haonan and You Guanyue, the disciples fell dead one after another, and riderless horses broke free and fled.
Seeing Cai Zhao’s reluctance, Fan Xingjia hurriedly said, “Don’t look! This is the right thing to do. If they see us with people from the Demon Sect and escape, who knows what they’ll say about us.”
Cai Zhao could only sigh again.
Fan Xingjia struggled to lift the unconscious Song Yuzhi, muttering, “Now you see the benefits of being skilled in martial arts. If you had known, you should have spent more time practicing instead of wandering around the flower market!”
“No,” Cai Zhao regretted, “I should have spent less time at the flower market, vegetable market, lantern market, Ullambana festival, and temple fairs dedicated to Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Guanyin, and Ksitigarbha, and more time practicing!”
Fan Xingjia: …
Suddenly, Cai Zhao felt a tug on her left hand. She looked down and saw the silver chain on her wrist pulled taut, leading to the young man standing at the edge of the forest.
Mu Qingyan said coldly, “Follow me.”
The dense forest was located north of Guangtian Gate. From above, it looked like a giant carpet woven from fine hemp, densely packed and endless. Since records began in the martial world, few had managed to cross this forest. Just as the Azure Sect had the towering Sky Piercing Peak behind it and the Demon Sect had the vast Hanhai Mountain Range, this forest served as Guangtian Gate’s natural barrier, preventing enemies from attacking from behind.
Upon entering the forest, the bright moonlight suddenly dimmed. It felt like a thick curtain covered the sky, making even the faces of companions barely visible. Cai Zhao looked around and noticed that all the tree trunks were tall and slender, growing unusually close to each other. The branches and leaves above intertwined, forming a canopy like a tent.
Cai Zhao wanted to light a torch, but Mu Qingyan’s silver chain pulled tight whenever she slowed down, forcing her to stumble after him. On her left and right were Shangguan Haonan carrying Song Yuzhi and You Guanyue dragging Fan Xingjia. The six of them moved silently deeper into the forest.
After several twists and turns, they had no idea how long they had been walking when Mu Qingyan suddenly stopped. Cai Zhao almost bumped into his back. Mu Qingyan turned and pointed to the upper side, instructing Shangguan Haonan and You Guanyue, “Go there and let Fan Xingjia tend to Song Yuzhi’s wounds.”
They obeyed, each grabbing Song and Fan and leaping into the air. Cai Zhao looked up, realizing there were small, pointed green silk tents supported on the interlocking branches, with another smaller tent some distance away.
Suddenly, Cai Zhao felt a tight grip on her left arm. She looked down to see four slender, frost-white fingers pinching her sleeve. In the next instant, Mu Qingyan lifted her and leapt into the smaller tent.
Inside the tent, the dense foliage of the tree crowns was pushed aside by the tent frame, allowing the moonlight to filter through the green silk, illuminating the interior. Cai Zhao saw that the tent floor was covered with smooth tree trunks topped with soft carpets, and a neatly packed bundle lay in the corner.
Upon entering, Mu Qingyan pushed Cai Zhao’s shoulder down and reached to untie her collar. Cai Zhao blushed and tried to fend him off with an elbow strike. Mu Qingyan evaded slightly, then pinned her arm behind her back, pressing her down to prevent further resistance.
Cai Zhao, face down in the carpet, was overwhelmed by Mu Qingyan’s weight, feeling like a small lamb crushed by a mountain. She struggled futilely, realizing the man pinning her was tall and strong, his chest hard and his arms powerful, like a cage enclosing her.
Mu Qingyan suddenly said, “You’d better stop moving!”
Cai Zhao, confused, turned her head slightly, her cheek almost brushing his lips. They were nose to nose, their breaths mingling. The young man’s breathing was heavy, his usually calm eyes dilated with a strange excitement, his pale face flushed.
Cai Zhao, having read many racy books, felt both embarrassed and nervous. Her face reddened from her cheeks to her neck. She noticed the heat radiating from his body and feared he had a fever. Desperate, she cried, “I know you want to bandage my shoulder. I can do it myself. Please, just let me go…” Her last words were almost a plea.
Mu Qingyan’s eyes lingered on her exposed shoulder and neck, her soft skin glowing like snow with a touch of pink. Her frail body trembled like a frightened kitten, her eyes pleading. Mu Qingyan felt an urge to crush this seemingly fragile but cunning kitten yet also wanted to hold her tenderly.
After staring at her for a while, emotions flickering in his eyes, he finally closed them to calm himself. When he opened them, he released her hand. “Loosen your collar yourself.”
Cai Zhao, feeling relieved, quickly crawled to the corner of the tent.
Mu Qingyan turned to retrieve medicine and cloth from the bundle. When he turned back, he saw Cai Zhao trembling as she undid her collar, revealing the arrow wound on her shoulder.
He smiled sarcastically, “Today I’ve learned that Miss Cai can indeed endure and adapt.”
“Actually, I just realized it today too,” she replied.
After the sting of cleaning and applying medicine, Cai Zhao carefully fastened her clothes. Under the soft moonlight, the tall young man looked handsome and cold, his expression indifferent. Cai Zhao recalled the recent scene:
After Shangguan Haonan and You Guanyue had killed all the Siqi Gate pursuers, the field was strewn with corpses, and the ground was stained with blood. Mu Qingyan had tossed a porcelain bottle to them, “Dissolve the bodies to prevent anyone from identifying the wounds.”
A bottle of corrosive liquid quickly turned the bodies into a stinking puddle. Fan Xingjia and Cai Zhao nearly vomited, even Shangguan Haonan and You Guanyue turned away. Only Mu Qingyan remained unfazed, watching quietly until the sound of pursuing hooves approached. Then he ordered them to enter the forest.
“If I wanted to violate you,” Mu Qingyan said as he watched Cai Zhao tie her sleeves, making each knot tight, “you couldn’t stop me.”
Cai Zhao blushed, “No, I didn’t mean that. Of course, you wouldn’t do that.”
Mu Qingyan smirked, “The morals of the Demon Sect are not high. Miss Cai, you should be aware.”
Cai Zhao looked up warily, “What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” he replied, “just that I occasionally think about the uses of the golden chains in Leader Mu Donglie’s palace.”
Mu Qingyan sat elegantly, like a jade statue, while Cai Zhao tensed, preparing to defend herself if he made a move.
Seeing she was sufficiently frightened, Mu Qingyan changed the topic, “Previously, I investigated Mu Zhengyang’s past and found a close friend from his childhood. This friend told me that after returning from Snow Ridge with your aunt, Mu Zhengyang planned to come to this Blood Swamp. So, I came here. Now, it’s your turn. What did you find?”
Cai Zhao, though annoyed by his overly simple explanation, was relieved that his attention had shifted. She quickly recounted the secret she discovered in Yin Dai’s notes and sighed, “I wonder how Mu Zhengyang managed to lure Nie Hengcheng into practicing the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra.’ He must be very capable.”
Mu Qingyan looked surprised and asked, “Weren’t the many siblings of Leader Mu Lanyue hidden in the mountains, training in the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra,’ either dying or becoming crippled?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Cai Zhao replied. “Yin Dai collected old fragmented records from the six northern sects to reach this conclusion.”
“And the eldest son of Leader Mu Song also mastered the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra,’ but he died before his father?” Mu Qingyan murmured in confusion. “However, the history I read clearly states that Mu Yinong’s three brothers all died in a subsequent power struggle.”
Cai Zhao explained, “At first, I didn’t understand either. Then I thought about the saying ‘family scandals should not be spread outside’—like in my family, the ancestors who acted outrageously were always described vaguely in the genealogy. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t know that Gu Qingkong had retired to the snowy mountains. While families don’t record such things, other families might.”
Mu Qingyan still had doubts. “It makes sense to hide the record of Mu Lanyue’s siblings being crippled by the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra’ to avoid tarnishing our sect’s reputation. But why distort the cause of Mu Song’s eldest son’s death? Since he mastered the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra,’ what kind of scandal could there be, unless…”
He seemed to have thought of something, casually looking up. “Also, before your aunt fought to kill Nie Hengcheng, did Yin Dai already know that Nie Hengcheng wouldn’t live long? Did he deliberately let your aunt risk her life?”
Cai Zhao slumped her small shoulders, dejected. “Yes.”
“That old fox!” Mu Qingyan cursed, then glanced ahead mockingly. “Then why are you still running around with his grandson?”
Cai Zhao replied helplessly, “If it weren’t for the trouble at Guangtian Sect, I wouldn’t have had the chance to leave Jiuli Mountain. Sigh, I don’t know how my parents are doing now or where they took Sect Master Song.”
Mu Qingyan snorted, “Don’t worry. If what we heard is true, there are several groups of pursuers behind you. Yang Heying must have used most of the people from the Siqi Sect to capture you, so your parents are probably safe.”
He continued, “I originally thought Yang Heying had merely found some leverage on Song Maozhi to get benefits from Guangtian Sect. Now, it seems there’s more to it. What exactly happened last night?”
Cai Zhao quickly recounted what she saw last night and asked, “Was Song Maozhi really the one who killed the members of the Huangsha Gang? And who turned the villagers into corpse puppets?”
Mu Qingyan asked in return, “Does Yang Heying have the Eroding Bone Rain?”
Cai Zhao was startled. “Yes, he said that after Nie Hengcheng died, the six northern sects took advantage of the chaos in your sect and seized some branches, acquiring it then.” She saw Mu Qingyan’s cold expression. “Isn’t that true?”
Mu Qingyan slowly explained, “The Eroding Bone Rain was accidentally created by Lu Chengnan. Knowing its immense power and destructive capability, he never shared the recipe with anyone and never distributed it to the branches, fearing indiscriminate killing. Yan Xu said that because of this, Lu Chengnan had many disputes with his senior brother Zhao Tianba. When he was severely injured and fled, there were still over a hundred altars of Eroding Bone Rain in the Bliss Palace, but Nie Zhe and Han Yisu used most of it when I attacked. Now, the Eroding Bone Rain is in very limited supply.”
Cai Zhao was shocked. “Then where did Yang Heying get it? Could it be from that person behind the scenes? Did Nie Zhe give a few altars of Eroding Bone Rain when collaborating with that person, who then gave it to Yang Heying?”
Mu Qingyan nodded slowly. “That’s likely.”
“Should we catch Yang Heying for questioning first?” Cai Zhao asked.
Unexpectedly, Mu Qingyan said, “No, let’s go to the Blood Swamp first.”
Cai Zhao was puzzled.
Mu Qingyan asked, “What do you think an elderly person fears most?”
Cai Zhao wondered why he was asking this but answered, “Sickness? Aging? Both sickness and aging?”
“Yes,” Mu Qingyan said. “Do you know what kind of skill the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra’ is?”
“I have no idea.”
“It’s said that when the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra’ is mastered, not only can one become invincible, but it also extends life and reverses aging.”
Cai Zhao exclaimed, “Does Nie Hengcheng want to live forever?”
“Not necessarily,” Mu Qingyan replied. “But for someone as ambitious and proud as Nie Hengcheng, who is now old and has no wife or children, he might become fixated on his life’s achievements.”
Cai Zhao whispered, “He almost wiped out your family; I’d say that’s quite an accomplishment.”
Ignoring her remark, Mu Qingyan continued, “He might think that despite seizing power from the Mu family, the six northern sects remain intact, and the world is still divided. It seems he hasn’t achieved anything earth-shattering.”
Cai Zhao felt a twinge in her heart. “Is that what you think too?”
Mu Qingyan looked at her deeply but didn’t answer. “At this point, if he knew about the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra,’ it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t be tempted. Earlier, you asked how Mu Zhengyang lured Nie Hengcheng to practice the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra.’ I guess this is the reason.”
Cai Zhao tilted her head, thinking. “That makes sense. Continue about the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra.'”
Mu Qingyan said, “In general, the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra’ has three stages. Each breakthrough significantly increases inner strength. However, its most sinister aspect is that these stages must be completed in one go. Once you break through one stage, you must immediately push for the next, without any pause, or face severe backlash.”
“In other words, you can’t just be satisfied with mastering the first or second stage; you must continue until the skill is fully mastered. Unlike other martial arts, where you can pause and recover when encountering difficulties, the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra’ has only two outcomes: complete mastery or sudden death.”
“When we encountered Duan Jiuxiu in the snowy mountains, we learned that the first stage of the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra’ requires the saliva of the Snow Scaled Dragon Beast. From Lu Chengnan’s last words, we know that Nie Hengcheng has reached the final stage, needing the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower. So, what does the second stage require?”
Cai Zhao caught on. “You mean the key to the second stage is in this Blood Swamp?”
Mu Qingyan nodded slightly. “Nie Hengcheng is cunning. He wouldn’t risk starting the practice without ensuring he had everything needed for all three stages. He obtained the Snow Scaled Dragon Beast’s saliva, probably using some excuse to present it to Nie Hengcheng, and the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower is a sect treasure. As for the Blood Swamp…”
“Nie Hengcheng initially didn’t have whatever’s in the Blood Swamp; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent Chen Shu,” Cai Zhao added.
Mu Qingyan nodded again and said, “Now, the person behind the scenes also wants to practice the ‘Ziwei Heart Sutra.’ The Snow Scaled Dragon Beast’s saliva, which never decays, might still be obtainable from old families like Jin Baohui’s, but the other two items are not. Since Lü Fengchun and Yu Huiyin couldn’t reveal the identity of that person, Yang Heying likely won’t be able to either. It’s better to investigate the Blood Swamp and see who else has been here looking for treasures.”
Cai Xiao nodded vigorously.
“Tonight, we’ll rest and recover. At dawn, we’ll head into the depths of the forest. Do you want to find out who that person is?”
Cai Xiao continued to nod enthusiastically.
“Lie down and rest now. Are you hungry? Have some dry rations. There’s no chicken soup or wontons available, so just close your eyes and sleep!”
Meanwhile, in the other large tent…
You Guanyue pulled out a poetry collection from somewhere and started reciting with exaggerated seriousness.
Shangguan Haonan lay on his bedroll, propping his head up with one hand while teasing the wild rabbits in a cage with a blade of grass in the other.
As Fan Xingjia inserted silver needles into the unconscious Song Yuzhi, he kept glancing anxiously at the small tent across the way, obscured by branches. “Do you think my junior sister will be okay?” he asked worriedly.
You Guanyue snorted but said nothing.
Fan Xingjia continued fretfully, “Your sect leader seems to have a bad temper. He was already like this back on Jiuli Mountain. My junior sister said she parted ways with him amicably, but I hope he doesn’t give her a hard time. She’s had a tough year, not to mention the caning she suffered…”
Shangguan Haonan suddenly spoke up, “Young brother, have you experienced intimacy yet?”
Fan Xingjia froze. “What do you mean by intimacy?”
Shangguan Haonan sat up, pushing the lively rabbit cage aside, and smirked, “I mean, have you slept with a woman?”
Fan Xingjia blushed deeply. “I… I haven’t married yet.”
“Experiencing intimacy doesn’t necessarily require marriage, young brother,” Shangguan Haonan chuckled.
You Guanyue frowned. “Stop talking nonsense. Keep it clean.”
“Get lost, you pretentious coward,” Shangguan Haonan waved his hand dismissively, then patted Fan Xingjia on the shoulder. “Listen to me, nine times out of ten, quarrels between men and women end in reconciliation.”
Fan Xingjia looked horrified and shook his head. “They’re not a couple, and there’s no bed here!”
Shangguan Haonan clicked his tongue. “You’re so naive.”
Fan Xingjia couldn’t hold back. “Senior, please don’t be so presumptuous.”
Shangguan Haonan boasted, “I have three loving wives at home. How could I not know?”
“He’s planning to marry a fourth,” You Guanyue grumbled.
Fan Xingjia was speechless. He spent the night half-awake in a state of anxiety and fear. The next morning, after freshening up, he was shocked to see his dear junior sister with dark circles under her eyes, yawning and looking exhausted. “Junior sister, are you alright?” he cried out in despair.
Cai Zhao asked curiously, “Did you have nightmares too, Fifth Brother?”
She had been too tired and nervous, especially with a certain demon sleeping just an arm’s length away, causing her to lose sleep all night.
In her dreams, Mu Qingyan’s face kept appearing, one moment scolding her harshly, “You still expect me to make wontons for you after treating me so cruelly? Dream on!” and the next moment sneering, “Now you see the consequences of breaking up with me. You’ll never eat my wontons again…” What nonsense.
“Is Third Brother feeling better?” Cai Zhao asked.
Fan Xingjia looked around, seeing Mu Qingyan was not present and the other two demon sect leaders were off washing up. He gathered his courage and said, “Junior sister, come up and see for yourself.”
Cai Zhao had the same thought and climbed into the large tent with Fan Xingjia.
Song Yuzhi lay quietly on his bedroll, his pale face faintly tinged with blue.
Fan Xingjia pulled out a bundle from his pocket and handed it to Cai Zhao. “This is the hidden weapon that hit Third Brother. He pulled it out while he was still conscious and kept it in his sleeve. The poison hasn’t worn off yet. Last night, I used silver needles to help detoxify him and applied a powerful antidote. He should wake up in a few hours.”
Cai Zhao examined the weapon wrapped in the cloth. It was an ordinary willow leaf dart, small and thin, with a rough surface intentionally carved with many winding grooves.
“It’s to hold more poison,” she guessed.
“Exactly,” Fan Xingjia agreed. “Look here.” He lifted Song Yuzhi’s shoulder to reveal the wound under the bandage. “Doesn’t this wound seem strange to you?”
Cai Zhao examined it closely. “Hmm, the wound is shallow, just a scratch. What’s going on? Did you see when Third Brother was hit last night?”
“No, I was watching Master Song fight three opponents. What about you, junior sister?” Fan Xingjia asked. He had seen countless fights involving Song Yuzhi but rarely witnessed such high-stakes battles involving grandmasters.
Cai Zhao replied, “I didn’t see it either. I was looking for escape routes. When I turned back, Third Brother was already down. I didn’t realize his wound was so shallow.”
Fan Xingjia continued, “Junior sister, is it better for a hidden weapon to hit deep or shallow?”
“Of course, deep is better. The deeper, the more damage,” Cai Zhao answered without hesitation.
“Then why didn’t this person aim deeper? Did they prefer not to?”
“Obviously, they either lacked the strength or underestimated Third Brother’s skill,” Cai Zhao speculated.
Fan Xingjia pressed on, “If they lacked skill, how did they hit Third Brother at all? Was there someone else with a hidden weapon, or did Third Brother’s hearing fail him?”
Cai Zhao pondered, “I get what you’re saying. You think this person was very familiar with Third Brother’s skills. They observed him quietly, predicted his next move, and struck at the right moment.”
“But who could it be? There were only three of us from Qingque Sect last night,” she said, puzzled.
“I don’t know, but it wasn’t you or me. We were hiding together when Third Brother was hit,” Fan Xingjia shrugged. “And the poison on the dart is peculiar. It’s not a deadly poison but a rare one that paralyzes the body instantly. I’ve never seen it before.”
“A shallow wound wouldn’t be fatal even with a deadly poison. Third Brother could have sealed his energy and detoxified slowly. Instant paralysis is much more dangerous,” Cai Zhao remarked.
As they discussed, Cai Zhao sensed movement below. She quickly kicked Fan Xingjia down the tree and followed him. Fan Xingjia nearly fell flat but got up to see You Guanyue and Shangguan Haonan smirking at him.
“Young Master Fan brought Miss Zhao to visit Master Song, I see,” You Guanyue teased.
“They’re close siblings. It’s natural,” Shangguan Haonan added sarcastically.
“Are there really different types of sibling relationships?” You Guanyue mused.
“Siblings who discuss marriage are close; those who don’t are distant,” Shangguan Haonan joked.
“Nonsense!” Fan Xingjia retorted.
Just then, Mu Qingyan appeared, walking briskly with a large bundle on his back.
He addressed the four of them, “A place like the Blood Swamp is no place for a crowd. Today, Zhao and I will go in alone. You wait here. Guanyue, send word to the disciples outside to have Yan Xu bring me all the records about the sixth-generation sect leader Mu Song and his sons. Haonan, if I don’t return by sunset, have the disciples from the Blazing Fire Camp burn the forest.”
“What?” Cai Zhao snapped awake. “You plan to burn the forest?”
Mu Qingyan handed her a paper-wrapped package, and the aroma of hot, savory food wafted out. Fan Xingjia saw it was a set of meat-stuffed flatbreads. You Guanyue and Shangguan Haonan respectfully handed over the Yan Yang Knife and the rabbit cage. Mu Qingyan took them, then turned and left with Cai Zhao.
You Guanyue watched them go and murmured, “So, the sect leader went out early to buy food?”
They hadn’t lit any fires in the forest yesterday to avoid detection.
Shangguan Haonan shook his head. “Seems like nothing happened last night.”
You Guanyue leaned closer. “How do you know?”
Shangguan Haonan thought it wouldn’t be wise to gossip about the sect leader’s private matters and risk punishment. He grinned and dodged, “I don’t know, but Xing’er surely does. Ask her.”
——A harmonious relationship should make a man look refreshed and happy. Why would he go out for food looking grim, as if he’d fought the Six Northern Sects?
You Guanyue scoffed, “Fine, don’t tell me then.”
The surroundings grew increasingly eerie.
Previously, the dense forest, though thickly wooded, had retained a semblance of normal vegetation. However, after walking deep into the woods for over an hour, Cai Zhao noticed the ground beneath his feet becoming progressively wetter and softer. The surrounding tree trunks grew more twisted and frail, eventually degenerating into winding vines that entwined several together, forming barriers across the path.
What was more unsettling was the reddish soil and vines around them, the hue intensifying the deeper they ventured.
To ensure they could find their way back, Mu Qingyan had prepared a long coil of golden silk thread from his pack. He tied one end to the last visible normal tree trunk and carefully unwound the other, wrapping it around his arm.
“Yesterday, you used this to find your way out?” Cai Zhao stared at the delicate golden thread.
Mu Qingyan nodded. “Yesterday’s thread wasn’t long enough. Today’s should suffice. If we can’t find our way out using this thread, we’ll retreat the same way.”
Cai Zhao silently marveled. Knowing Mu Qingyan’s fearless nature, the fact he was using a thread for self-rescue spoke volumes about the dangers they had faced the day before.
After walking a while longer, Cai Zhao felt her steps growing heavier. Each time her foot lingered on the ground a bit too long, or lifted slightly too slowly, she risked sinking into the boggy ground.
“So this is the Blood Marsh,” Cai Zhao examined her mud-caked boots, surrounded by eerie, twisted vines that now dominated the landscape, adorned with small clusters of flowers resembling orchids, but with unsettling crimson petals.
“These vines have completely taken over,” she observed, leaning in closer. “Most vines elsewhere grow around tree trunks, but here they’ve consumed them, replacing them entirely.”
She reached out to touch one but was stopped by Mu Qingyan, who handed her a pair of leather gloves.
“Don’t touch anything here,” he warned. “Just watch.” With that, he took a rabbit from his cage and threw it into a dense tangle of vines.
A bizarre and unsettling sight unfolded as the tightly coiled vines seemed to come alive, ensnaring the lively rabbit. Despite its vigorous struggles, which even a grown adult might struggle to control, the rabbit soon lay motionless.
Shocked, Cai Zhao moved closer to see transparent slime coating the vines, tiny thorns piercing the rabbit’s skin. As she watched, dark red pus oozed slowly from the joints of the vines, beginning to corrode the struggling rabbit—though it remained alive, its hindquarters now exposed bones, its eyes still moving.
Cai Zhao had seen massive pythons in the Snow Peaks, aware of creatures that swallowed prey whole, breaking them down with stomach acid.
Now, a similar scene unfolded before her eyes, unabashedly grotesque. She felt nauseous.
Mu Qingyan glanced at her and flicked a pebble, smashing the rabbit’s head.
Pale-faced, Cai Zhao turned away, trying to compose herself. “I’ve heard of plants in the southern Yunnan region that can consume living creatures, but I never thought…”
Mu Qingyan’s expression hardened. “Let’s keep moving.”
Struggling with her clay-caked boots, Cai Zhao approached a vine, a sudden realization striking her.
Mu Qingyan asked what was wrong, and she replied solemnly, “I think I’ve figured something out.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s about grafting peach trees in swampy areas.”
Mu Qingyan frowned. “Stop lying to my face!” He turned and walked away.
Blushing, Cai Zhao hurried after him.
The atmosphere grew increasingly damp, shrouded in mist. Visibility beyond ten steps was obscured, even in daylight—nighttime would be unimaginable.
Seeing Cai Zhao panting lightly, Mu Qingyan lifted his Bright Sun Sword and swiftly cut down three or four vines. The severed vines writhed as if in pain, knots swelling and contracting, joints emitting a grating sound like teeth grinding, unsettling Cai Zhao.
Mu Qingyan callously kicked the vines aside, laying them out across the marsh. He unfolded a leather pouch and gestured for Cai Zhao to sit and rest.
“The ground is getting wetter,” Cai Zhao noted after drinking some water. She encouraged herself silently, “But why does this place feel familiar?”
Mu Qingyan pondered. “Could this be the formation of the Falling Petal Valley?”
“If it were, I’d recognize it.”
“Then it must be the formation of the Qingque Sect.”
Cai Zhao defended herself, “Though I may sneak around my sect now and then, I’m not so unfamiliar with our own sect’s formations.”
Mu Qingyan chuckled softly. “Forget about it for now. Even if there were a formation, it wouldn’t be set up on the outskirts like this. Walk a bit farther, and you’ll see what a real Blood Marsh is—we reached that point yesterday.” He pointed ahead.
Cai Zhao smiled. “It’s amazing that you managed to find your way back.”
“We didn’t find our way back. We wandered until sunset yesterday and got completely lost,” Mu Qingyan looked up. “In the end, we had to leap onto the vines and return straight from above.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” Cai Zhao sighed. “So now we can enter the center of the Blood Marsh from above.”
Mu Qingyan glanced at her. “Go up and see for yourself.”
They leaped into the air, grabbing onto the vine tips. Disappointed, Cai Zhao looked down.
The surroundings grew increasingly eerie.
Earlier, the forest had been dense but still consisted of normal vegetation. However, after walking deeper into the woods for over an hour, Cai Zhao noticed the soil underfoot becoming softer and wetter. The tree trunks around him twisted and thinned, eventually devolving into crooked vines. Several vines intertwined to form a single mass, and the masses connected to block the path forward.
More alarming was that the soil here was red, as were the vines, with the color intensifying the deeper they went.
To avoid losing their way back, Mu Qingyan had taken a long spool of fine gold thread from his bag before entering the blood swamp. He tied one end to the last normal tree trunk within sight and wound the other end around his arm, slowly releasing it as they proceeded.
“Did you use this method to find your way out yesterday?” Cai Zhao asked, staring at the thin gold thread.
Mu Qingyan replied, “The rope we prepared yesterday wasn’t long enough. Today’s should suffice. If we can’t find our way out when the rope runs out, we’ll retrace our steps.”
Cai Zhao reflected silently, thinking that someone as fearless as Mu Qingyan resorting to using a rope for safety indicated the peril they had faced the previous day.
As they walked further, Cai Zhao found it increasingly difficult to move. If he let his feet linger too long on the ground or moved too slowly, he risked sinking into the mire.
“So this is the blood swamp,” Cai Zhao remarked, looking at the thick red mud clinging to his boots. He glanced around at the twisted, deep red vines, noting clusters of small, strange flowers that resembled orchids but were an eerie shade of red.
“These vines have taken over,” he observed closely. “Most vines in the world rely on trees to grow, but here, the vines have consumed the original tree trunks and replaced them.”
As he reached out to touch one, Mu Qingyan stopped him and handed him a pair of leather gloves.
“Don’t touch anything here,” Mu Qingyan warned. “Watch this.” He took a rabbit from a cage and threw it into a dense tangle of vines.
An astonishing scene unfolded. The tightly wound vines moved as if alive, wrapping around the struggling rabbit. Despite its vigorous efforts, the rabbit soon lay motionless.
Cai Zhao leaned in to inspect and saw fine, transparent mucus on the vines, with small thorns piercing the rabbit’s flesh. Deep red sap oozed from the joints of the vines, slowly corroding the still-living rabbit, whose eyes continued to move even as its hind legs exposed bone.
Cai Zhao had seen giant pythons in the snowy mountains and knew some creatures swallowed their prey whole, crushing their bones and dissolving them with stomach acid. Now, a similar scene played out before her, making her nauseous.
Mu Qingyan flicked a pebble, smashing the rabbit’s head, sparing Cai Zhao further horror.
Cai Zhao turned away, pale but trying to remain calm. “I’ve heard of plants in the southern regions that can devour living creatures, but I didn’t expect to see it here.”
“Let’s keep moving,” Mu Qingyan said curtly.
Cai Zhao lifted his mud-caked boots and hesitated as they passed the vine.
Mu Qingyan asked what was wrong, and Cai Zhao murmured, “I think I’ve realized something.”
Mu Qingyan asked what it was, and Cai Zhao, in a serious tone, replied, “How to graft peach trees in a swamp.”
Mu Qingyan’s face darkened, and he snorted, “Lying to my face!” He brushed past her, his expression displeased.
Cai Zhao, feeling guilty, quickly followed.
The air grew increasingly humid, and a thick mist obscured visibility beyond ten steps, even during the day. Nightfall would be unthinkable in such conditions.
Mu Qingyan noticed the girl panting and used his Yan-Yang sword to chop down three or four vines. The severed vines writhed and twitched as if in pain, with bumps on their surface swelling and contracting. The joints emitted a grinding sound, which disturbed Cai Zhao.
Without emotion, Mu Qingyan kicked the vines into a pile, spread out a leather tarp, and pulled the girl down to rest.
“The soil is getting wetter. We must be heading in the right direction,” Cai Zhao said, drinking some water and trying to bolster her courage. “But this place seems familiar.”
Mu Qingyan wondered, “Could there be an array from Luo Ying Valley here?”
“If it were from Luo Ying Valley, I’d recognize it immediately,” Cai Zhao retorted.
“Then it’s an array from Qingque Sect.”
Cai Zhao defended herself, “I may slack off, but I can still recognize our sect’s arrays.”
Mu Qingyan chuckled, “Don’t worry. If there is an array, it wouldn’t be this far out. Go a bit further, and you’ll see what a real blood swamp is. We reached that spot yesterday.” He pointed ahead.
Cai Zhao smiled, “You managed to find your way back?”
“We didn’t find our way back. We got completely lost until sunset and had to climb the vines to return.”
Cai Zhao exclaimed, “Why didn’t I think of that? We can use the vines to reach the center of the blood swamp.”
Mu Qingyan glanced at her, “Try climbing up and see for yourself.”
They both leaped up, holding onto the vine tips, and Cai Zhao’s hope quickly faded.
The vine was exceptionally tall, oozing potentially poisonous sap everywhere. To make matters worse, its uppermost tip was covered with clusters of fine, dandelion-like filaments. These filaments swayed with the slightest breath, making it impossible to land on them even with exceptional lightness skills, and they obscured vision.
“These filaments are quite toxic,” Mu Qingyan remarked as he jumped down from the vine’s tip, carrying Cai Zhao. He rolled up his sleeve to show her his arm, which was marked with bloodstains as if corroded.
“Yesterday, the three of us tried to get out by tearing off the hems of our clothes to cover our heads and faces. We braved the filaments and leaped straight towards the southern wilderness. With Qingyun Zong protecting me, I fared better, but You Guanyue and Shangguan Haonan were severely injured. When we met you last night, we had just finished treating our wounds and changing clothes.”
Cai Zhao realized, “No wonder you didn’t bring them today.” She smiled mischievously, revealing her little tiger teeth, “Mu Boss, you do care about your men.”
Mu Qingyan remained expressionless. “They would only be a burden.”
After a brief rest, they set off again, but the dense fog ahead began to take on a faint reddish hue.
Mu Qingyan warned, “We are approaching miasma. Inhaling it for too long can cause dizziness and numbness. It’s best to hold an antidote pill in your mouth.” He looked down, “The Qingxin Pill from your Luo Ying Valley is renowned. Little Heroine Cai, take out two.”
Cai Zhao was embarrassed. “I didn’t bring any.”
“Hmm?” Mu Qingyan’s lips twisted in mockery. “Entering the Blood Swamp unprepared? Little Heroine Cai, you are truly bold.”
Cai Zhao stammered, “I didn’t bring them because I thought the Guangtian Gate matter would be quickly resolved. I planned to prepare everything then. Who knew we’d be chased into the Blood Swamp so soon, without even saying much to my parents?”
Mu Qingyan’s eyes hinted at a smile, but he said, “I told you, following Song Yuzhi wouldn’t lead to anything good.”
Cai Zhao thought to herself, ‘Following you hasn’t brought much good either. The whip marks on my back haven’t even faded.’ While she was silently complaining, Mu Qingyan suddenly stuffed a fragrant pill into her mouth. She licked the pill with her tongue. “Why is it sweet, like a candy?”
“Don’t swallow it, even if it’s sweet.” Mu Qingyan withdrew his finger and walked ahead.
Cai Zhao looked at Mu Qingyan’s tall, slender back. Her mouth was filled with the sweet peach flavor she had loved since childhood. She couldn’t help but smile, then felt a pang of melancholy.
As they continued forward, Mu Qingyan took out the fourth coil of golden silk rope. After securing the ends tightly, he said, “This is the last coil. If we still can’t get out, we’ll go back.”
Cai Zhao nodded seriously.
Now, they were surrounded by eerie pink fog. The ground beneath was almost fluid mud, with a faint downward pull, like an abyss ready to swallow anything trapped in the swamp.
Earlier, Mu Qingyan had released two lively rabbits, which were soon swallowed by the swamp. Fortunately, both Mu and Cai had exceptional lightness skills, allowing them to leap away with just a toe touch.
As the sky darkened, the light in the Blood Swamp dimmed further. When Mu Qingyan chopped down the vine for the fifth time, Cai Zhao hung a luminous pearl on her right wrist for illumination. They watched the cut vine slowly sink into the ground, using the brief moment to rest.
“I still feel like this place is familiar, but I can’t remember why,” Cai Zhao pondered.
Mu Qingyan, looking at the few remaining coils of fine rope on his arm, said, “Stop thinking about it. After a short break, we’ll head back.”
Cai Zhao lifted her face, “Mu Qingyan, are we trapped in a maze within the Blood Swamp?”
Mu Qingyan replied, “Do you know how long my four coils of rope are when stretched out? If we were moving straight ahead, we should have exited the swamp by now.”
Cai Zhao fell silent. “So, we’ve been led astray, and I didn’t even notice.”
Mu Qingyan said calmly, “Let’s wait for the people from the Fiery Camp to set the forest on fire. No matter how mysterious this place is, a fire will reveal everything.”
Cai Zhao smiled, “What if the key to mastering the second level of the Ziwei Heart Sutra gets burned?”
“Then let it burn. I have no intention of practicing that anyway.”
Cai Zhao laughed and then sighed. The people of Luo Ying Valley had a natural affinity for vegetation. She said softly, “Although the Blood Swamp is strange, the forest outside is precious. It’s rare for such a dense forest to grow. It’s a pity to burn it down. I thought that if your uncle could find the secret within, so could we…”
Mu Qingyan, thinking differently, said, “Are you really pitying the forest, or are you worried that Guangtian Gate will lose its northern barrier?”
Cai Zhao was about to retort but suddenly had a thought. “What did I just say?”
Mu Qingyan responded, “You said, ‘I thought we could find the secret too.'”
“No, not that. The previous sentence.”
Mu Qingyan became serious. “You said, ‘Even your uncle found the secret within…'”
Cai Zhao trembled slightly. In the faint light of the luminous pearl, her pupils dilated. “Twenty years ago, your uncle didn’t come to the Blood Swamp alone, did he?”
“Yes, he probably came with your aunt. So what?”
“So, it wasn’t your uncle who found the secret of the Blood Swamp; it was my aunt.” Cai Zhao looked around again. “I know why this place seems familiar now…”
Mu Qingyan was about to ask when Cai Zhao shouted in terror, “We need to go back immediately! This is a trap, we’re in a trap! Hurry!”
Mu Qingyan’s expression tightened as he grabbed Cai Zhao and followed the golden silk rope back. As soon as their feet touched the return path, it was as if they triggered something. The nearly stagnant blood-colored swamp suddenly surged. The vines that had been sinking slowly were swallowed instantly, like waves in a bloody sea.
Cai Zhao stepped into the swamp and screamed, “Something in the mud is biting my foot!”
Mu Qingyan quickly cut a thick vine, pulling her up. “Let’s get to the trees!” As they leapt, they saw an ugly, eyeless blood-red worm clinging to her boot.
Cai Zhao was so disgusted she wanted to throw the boot away, but Mu Qingyan swiftly severed the worm with a strike.
They repeatedly used the vines to propel themselves, but as they soared, vines dripping with stinking sap shot towards them from all directions. Mu Qingyan handed the Yan Yang knife to Cai Zhao and drew ‘Fuying’ from his back. Knowing that ‘Fuying’ specialized in countering strength with flexibility, Cai Zhao focused on cutting as many vines as possible.
The gold and silver lights flashed in the dark vine network, like a glimmer of hope desperately trying to escape from the depths of hell.
Barely reaching the treetops, Cai Zhao saw seven or eight colorful scorpions silently approaching along the branches. Their venomous stingers aimed at her arm. She quickly swung her knife, cutting them in half, but the scorpion corpses splattered yellow-green liquid, burning through her sleeve and seeping into her skin.
Cai Zhao cried out in pain.
“What happened?” Mu Qingyan pulled her close, seeing a line of black blisters on her white arm.
Cai Zhao looked over Mu Qingyan’s shoulder and saw a dozen ferocious flower-armored spiders descending on webs. She swung her knife and shouted, “Forget about me! We need to get out now!”
Mu Qingyan grabbed Cai Zhao and leapt down, “Cut some vines for a raft! Find thicker ones!”
Cai Zhao understood and began hacking at the thick vines while avoiding the poisonous creatures.
As a golden-red light flashed, Cai Zhao cut down a plant entwined with several thick vines. Inside, she saw what she thought was a tree trunk but turned out to be a swollen, moist human face. The stiff muscles and hollow eyes seemed to stare at her. A blood-red vine pierced his temple and emerged from his head, as if sucking out his brain.
This was a human corpse consumed by the blood swamp.
“Ahhh…!” Cai Zhao couldn’t hold back her scream.
Mu Qingyan turned and slashed the remaining vines with a single sword stroke, letting the corpse fall straight into the mire.
“Watch out behind you!” Cai Zhao shouted in terror, simultaneously gritting her teeth and swinging her knife.
A vine silently unfurled behind Mu Qingyan, revealing a ghastly, pale green human figure wrapped within. Its mouth was agape, with two rotten, black holes where eyes once were. The eyeballs were long gone, leaving a thin blood vine crawling out of the eye socket and extending from the mouth.
The released vines slithered from multiple directions. Cai Zhao, suppressing her fear and nausea, quickly severed the living vines. These were not the only “smart” vines; all around, the vines rustled and moved, opening their clasping forms to reveal various degrees of decayed human and animal corpses. The corpses writhed, attacking the two.
They fended off the vines while desperately running back the way they came.
“What on earth is going on?” Mu Qingyan’s sword flashed like mercury, swiftly slicing through several wrist-thick vines pursuing them.
“This is the formation of Luoying Valley…”
“You said it wasn’t before!”
“It is… or was… I mean, it was before!” Cai Zhao, unable to step on the mire, had to tread on fallen corpses and vines, getting covered in vine slime and bloody mud.
“This was the old formation of Luoying Valley! I’ve never seen it in action, only read about it in books!”
They ran at full speed, the golden threads unknowingly severed. Mu Qingyan kept turning back to slash at the vines. They didn’t know how long they had been fleeing, but they began to feel the mire hardening underfoot. Cai Zhao stepped firmly, noticing the mist thinning to a translucent state, and grabbed Mu Qingyan, “This is good enough!”
Mu Qingyan stopped, indeed seeing no vines pursuing them and even spotting a large stone protruding from the ground nearby. He exhaled deeply, examining Cai Zhao’s arm for injuries, “Explain everything to me!”
Cai Zhao, panting heavily, sat on the stone with him, “Luoying Valley hasn’t prospered for two hundred years. You demons don’t mess around either. So, we relied on formations to protect ourselves, making sure invaders never returned. But no matter how good a formation is, it can’t be used endlessly. Sooner or later, enemies will figure it out… Ouch, be gentle!”
Mu Qingyan pierced a red-black blister on her arm with a small silver knife, squeezing out the black blood, and glanced at her, “You still have the strength to yell, so the injury isn’t serious.”
“Where was I? Oh, right. We couldn’t use the same formation forever…” Cai Zhao continued, “So every few generations or decades, we made slight adjustments to the formation to confuse our enemies. However, in the past twenty to thirty years, the formation changes have been more drastic.”
Mu Qingyan looked up, “Why is that?”
Cai Zhao scoffed, “Blame your ambitious ancestor’s adopted son, Master Nie, always scheming to unify the six sects.”
Mu Qingyan playfully pretended to bite her arm, making Cai Zhao yelp and try to maintain a serious demeanor, “Behave yourself. We’ve agreed to part ways. If you harass me again, I’ll… Ah!”
Mu Qingyan slapped her hand lightly and then sucked the black-red blister, slowly drawing out the blood.
Cai Zhao felt a tingling numbness in her arm, her face turning red, “Master Mu is truly heroic…”
Mu Qingyan spat out the pus and gave them both antidote pills, “I won’t speak of this. You can act as if nothing happened.”
“I’d better continue,” Cai Zhao touched her flushed face, “The first formation change was over twenty years ago. My great-uncle, Hero Cai Changfeng, added various things he learned from the martial world into the ancestral formation after the family was left unattended. I don’t know about its power, but the changes were significant. Years later, my aunt and father almost couldn’t get in when they returned home.”
“The second change was over ten years ago when my aunt killed Nie Hengcheng and was left crippled. My mother, fearing the Nie clan’s revenge, combined my grandfather’s lifelong research with the Luoying Valley formation…”
“You mean the current Luoying Valley formation is entirely different from your great-uncle’s version?”
“Yes!” Cai Zhao confirmed, “That’s why I said I’ve never seen the real one, only read about it in an old book. The current formation is completely different.”
Mu Qingyan stood up, surveying their surroundings, “How old is this formation?”
Cai Zhao thought for a moment, “The book is from sixty years ago, and the formation has fluctuated for about twenty years before and after that.”
Mu Qingyan said, “Your aunt was orphaned at eleven or twelve, so she saw the old formation and sensed the dangers of the blood swamp, leading Master Mu Zhengyang to discover the secret of cultivating the Second Heaven.”
Cai Zhao was silent for a moment, “I don’t think my aunt knew about the blood swamp’s secrets or the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva for cultivating the ‘Purple Micro Sutra.’ Mu Zhengyang deceived even Nie Hengcheng, let alone my aunt.”
“Indeed, Mu Zhengyang is truly a cunning and treacherous hero of his generation.”
“… Let’s not delay any longer. We should continue scouting, or else by sunset, your followers will set the forest on fire,” Cai Zhao said, dusting off his clothes and standing up.
“Alright.” Mu Qingyan helped the slightly unsteady girl to her feet, and the two walked determinedly forward.
“Has the sun set?”
“No.”
“The sky seems very dark.”
“That’s because the clouds are thick, blocking the sunlight. The sun is still high in the sky.”
“What do you think, young brother?”
“… I’ll go see if the third senior brother is thirsty.”
“I want to eat roast goose.”
“The sun hasn’t set yet.”
“This formation is old but viciously effective,” Cai Zhao said, holding a luminous pearl as he weaved through the quiet, misty vine forest. “It uses the fog, soil, water flow, and trees to make intruders feel like they are moving forward without losing direction. In reality, the intruders are gradually being led into side paths filled with deadly traps.”
Mu Qingyan followed closely, remaining vigilant. “So, when the fog thickened earlier, we fell into their trap.”
“Exactly.”
Cai Zhao tugged at Mu Qingyan’s sleeve, carefully checking the path and muttering incantations like ‘Gen three, Dui four, Kan two.’ After about half an hour, they suddenly found themselves in a clear, open area. Before them lay a neatly arranged village.
Looking up, they saw countless vines weaving together to form a vast, misty canopy.
Cai Zhao counted and estimated that this village, encircled by the vine forest, had about fifty or sixty row houses, each resembling a southern-style bamboo stilt house, with two or three stories. He figured it could accommodate three to four hundred people.
The village was eerily quiet, almost as if only Mu Qingyan and Cai Zhao were present. A village housing three to four hundred people shouldn’t be this silent; it was unnaturally quiet.
“Do you think these houses are particularly…” Cai Zhao hesitated, “particularly small?”
Mu Qingyan smiled slightly. “The word ‘small’ is very apt, Zhao Zhao.”
The surrounding houses were not only low but also had furniture that was smaller than usual.
“I’ve heard that people who have lived in swamps for generations tend to be shorter,” Cai Zhao said.
The two strolled along the dimly lit village paths, noticing that the surrounding buildings were dilapidated, as if uninhabited for a long time. When a slight breeze blew, the vine-covered roofs rustled. The contrast between the dangerous and terrifying blood swamp they had just crossed and this tranquil, desolate place, where silver-white light filtered through the vine canopy, felt like stepping into a moonlit dream.
However, according to their calculations, it was still not yet dark.
“That house looks relatively well-kept,” said Mu Qingyan, who, being tall, could see over the low rooftops. He spotted a vine-covered house with a small flower garden on its roof.
They hurried over, only to find it empty inside. However, the hearth was warm, the firewood still had small flames, and the bed and chairs were clean and tidy.
Cai Zhao was delighted. “People live here, but where have they gone?”
Mu Qingyan frowned. “Did they hide when they saw us? Let’s look elsewhere…”
“—You’re here.”
A slow, elderly voice sounded behind them, catching them completely off guard. Cai Zhao broke into a cold sweat, while Mu Qingyan’s sword flashed to the old woman’s throat, stopping just half an inch short.
The old woman was short, even shorter than Cai Zhao. She wore coarse linen clothes, a vine hairpin, and carried a basket full of wild vegetables and mushrooms. Her face and limbs had faint moss-like markings, making her age indeterminate.
Behind her were seven or eight elderly men and women dressed similarly. Their bare feet made no sound on the soft soil.
Despite the sword at her throat, the old woman remained calm. She looked at Mu Qingyan’s face, smiled with her toothless mouth, then examined Cai Zhao, finally showing delight when her gaze fell on Cai Zhao’s sparkling eyes.
“Are you surnamed Cai or Yang?” the old woman asked. “Oh, I forgot, most of you outside take your father’s surname, so you must be Yang.”
A small old man behind her chimed in, “Sister, don’t forget, in Luoying Valley, some take their mother’s surname too.”
Cai Zhao brushed aside Mu Qingyan’s sword and asked excitedly, “Have you seen someone with a face like his, but with an iris flower birthmark on their neck?”
The old woman nodded. “Yes, and I’ve also seen someone with eyes like yours.”
Cai Zhao was overjoyed.
Mu Qingyan remained stern. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
The old woman pointed to the doorposts. “This couplet was carved by Miss Xiaoshu for me.”
Cai Zhao hurriedly turned to look. The upper couplet read, ‘When the moon is full, people don’t know,’ and the lower couplet, ‘When the sun sets, ghosts are unaware,’ with the horizontal scroll reading, ‘Without heaven and earth, I roam freely.’ The carving was bold and carefree, almost as if the wood had absorbed the spirit of the writer.
“Is it her handwriting?” Mu Qingyan asked softly.
Cai Zhao nodded repeatedly. “Yes, I grew up seeing it. It can’t be wrong.”
Mu Qingyan couldn’t help but ask, “Dare I ask, do you know we were coming?”
“No,” the old woman smiled. “If someone comes, they come. If no one comes, they don’t. Those who can find their way here are our guests. Those who end up elsewhere become fertilizer for the swamp vines.”
The gentle tone of her words, despite their ominous meaning, made Cai Zhao shiver.
“Did the person with the iris flower birthmark say his surname was Yang?” Mu Qingyan sheathed his sword.
The old woman confirmed. Mu Qingyan was about to ask more, but Cai Zhao interrupted him urgently. “There’s something important I need to say first!”
She put on a sweet smile and pleaded, “Granny, could you send someone to the southern forest to deliver a message? If we don’t return by sunset, someone will set the forest on fire!”
The old woman was taken aback, then she and the others behind her laughed heartily.
“You and your siblings are just like your parents!” The old woman laughed so hard she leaned back and forth. “Back then, Young Master Yang also planted many explosives in the outer forest and lit long fuses. When Miss Xiaoshu found us, the first thing she did was to tell us to extinguish the fuses, haha… alright, little brother, take two people and go.”
Cai Zhao wanted to lead the way, but the old woman stopped her. “Don’t worry, we know every corner of this forest and swamp like our own fingers and toes.”
The old woman added, “I know you have many questions. Let’s go inside and drink some licorice dew first.”
“Alright, alright…”
“This can wait,” Mu Qingyan said, pushing Cai Zhao aside this time. “There’s something we need to clarify first.”
“We are not siblings.”
“Has the sun set?”
“No.”
“The sky seems even darker.”
“The golden crow dips westward, and the sunlight isn’t as bright, but it hasn’t set.”
“What do you think, young brother?”
“… I’ll go check if the third senior brother needs the restroom.”
“I want to eat roast pork.”
“The sun hasn’t set yet.”